SWAC Annual Report 2018

Annual Report 2018

SAHEL AND WEST AFRICA

Club Secretariat

After a decade of strong commitment, SWAC President François-Xavier de Donnea (left) handed the presidency over to his successor Dr Ibrahim Assane Mayaki (right), Chief Executive Officer of the NEPAD Agency who became SWAC Honorary President as of 1 January 2019.

Annual Report 2018 published by the Sahel and West Africa Club Secretariat (SWAC/OECD) Authorised for publication by Laurent Bossard, Director, Sahel and West Africa Club Secretariat (SWAC/OECD), May 2019.

Contact: SWAC/OECD Secretariat, 2, rue André Pascal 75775 Paris Cedex 16, France Phone: +33 1 45 24 82 00, E-mail: swac.contact@oecd.org

Introduction United beyond national borders by common traditions and languages, the Sahel and West Africa region is home to some 400 million inhabitants in 2018 – a population that is increasingly young, urban and mobile. Over the past decades, West African settlement areas and urban networks have expanded and crossed borders, reinforcing economic, commercial and social interdependencies and creating immense opportunities for growth and development. However, food, health and security crises are also spreading throughout the region.

The mission of the Sahel and West Africa Club (SWAC) is to promote regional policies to meet these challenges and contribute to improving the economic and social well-being of the population.

To that end, it strives to: •

Support African members and its partners to make progress in the areas of food and nutrition security through more effective regional governance, tailored strategies and tools.

•

Contribute to regional policy and partner strategies through analyses, data, knowledge sharing, advocacy and policy dialogue.

This report discusses the impact of the activities undertaken by the SWAC Secretariat in 2018. In addition, the Secretariat proposes a monitoring and evaluation framework which will be presented to the SWAC Strategy and Policy Group on 19 June 2019.

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memBeRS And pARtneRS Austria

Belgium

Canada Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel Economic Community of West African States

European Union

France

Luxembourg

Netherlands (the)

Norway

Switzerland

United States

West African Economic and Monetary Union

4

oBSeRVeRS The NEPAD Planning and Co-ordinating Agency

Network of Farmers’ Organisations and Agricultural Producers of West Africa

The World Bank

SWAC has memorandums of understanding with the NEPAD Planning and Co-ordinating Agency and the University of Florida (Sahel Research Group).

300

Participants in the Sahel and West Africa Week

13 3

Members & Partners

Observers

Publications downloaded

20000 times in 2018

25

Articles & Contributions

From over

30 countries

A network of

100 Stakeholders

8

West African Papers

400

Maps available online

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Impact The Secretariat offers Members and partners a narrative of its activities through the prism of four parameters: influence, knowledge, resonance and recognition.

A few examples

Influence on decision making... is central to the Food Crisis Prevention Network (RPCA), jointly animated by the SWAC Secretariat and CILSS. In 2018, the RPCA drew attention to the extremely critical food and nutrition situation faced by more than 2.9 million people in north‑eastern Nigeria. The chapter on the "Lake Chad basin regional crisis: Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria" in the 2019 Global Report on Food Crises is directly drawn from the RPCA’s analysis and provides key source information for humanitarian interventions and support for resilience in this region. RPCA work also informs the recommendations of the UEMOA High-Level Committee on Food Security.

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Knowledge and understanding of regional issues... is a key challenge for two reasons: the lack of statistics and the speed with which changes take place. Expanding, updating and ensuring the reliability of the information on which regional policies and co-operation programmes are based is therefore, in and of itself, a strategic objective. In 2018, the Secretariat launched the Africapolis database. It geolocalises and describes over 7 600 urban agglomerations in Africa, making it by far the most exhaustive and reliable source of information for designing policies and programmes. The Secretariat has also completed its work on the role women play in trade networks as well as the constraints they face. Using social network analysis, a highly innovative methodology, the researchers measured women’s social capital, based on 2 000 interviews in the field, led by the University of Niamey. This is to date the biggest social network ever mapped in Africa. Research findings on the number of jobs in the food economy have been published. The Cadre harmonisé data, which identifies areas and numbers of people at risk of food and nutrition insecurity, are available online, and are a primary reference source for policy makers in this field.

resonance... refers to the “spread” of innovative approaches and visionary thinking. While it is rarely measured from one year to another, it is an important aspect of SWAC’s work. Downloaded over 14 000 times, An Atlas of the Sahara-Sahel (2014) illustrates the need for an integrated “Maghreb-Sahel” approach to stabilise the region. There is now widespread agreement on this idea, which is discussed in the Netherlands, Great Britain and Norway, with the Agence française de développement leading the way forward. The Global Network against Food Crises, created in May 2016, was directly inspired by the RPCA. In 2018, the Secretariat led intense advocacy work on the need to view Africa’s urban transition as the cornerstone of the continent’s future. The Secretariat stressed the positive role that cities play in the development and stabilisation of countries in the Sahel.

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Recognition of the Secretariat’s expertise... is also expressed by the large number of specific requests made by Members and partners to the Secretariat.

Examples in 2018:

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•

5th informal meeting of the Special envoys and partners for the Sahel (January), Stockholm

•

Working visit to Luxembourg’s Ministry for Development Co-operation (January), Luxembourg

•

Belgium’s interdepartmental meeting on the Sahel and working visit to the Belgian Development Co-operation (February), Brussels

•

Meeting to review the UEMOA-SWAC partnership (March), Ouagadougou

•

Meeting to validate the regional capacity-strengthening strategy for the implementation of ECOWAP 2025 (March), Lomé

•

Steering Committee meeting of food and nutrition security programmes and projects and ECOWAS Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food (RAAF) Steering Committee meeting (March), Lomé

•

PREGEC meeting for food crisis prevention and management and the Cadre harmonisé Steering Committee meeting (March), Ouagadougou

•

Working visit to the Netherlands’ Ministry for Development Co-operation (March), The Hague

•

ECOWAS ministerial meeting on transhumance and security (April), Abuja

•

UEMOA-SWAC/OECD symposium on cross-border co-operation, supported

by Switzerland (July), Cotonou

•

Regional conference on "Climate Change and Resilience of Territories: Lessons from West Africa" (September), Dakar

•

Conference on development co-operation (September), Luxembourg

•

6th informal meeting of the Special envoys and partners for the Sahel (October), Copenhagen

•

5th high-level regional dialogue on peaceful cross-border transhumance (November), Cotonou

•

Africapolis symposium during the Africités summit (November), Marrakesh

•

Seminar on "Urbanisation, food economy, gender and insecurity", at the invitation of the Austrian Development Co-operation (December), Vienna

Africa’s urban agglomeration network

This image of networks and clusters emerges when connecting each of Africapolis’ 7 616 urban agglomerations located at a distance of 637 kilometres or less. It shows the high density of urban areas in West Africa, along the Nile River, in North Africa, in the Ethiopian Highlands, in the Great Lakes region and in southern Africa. The West Africa cluster is the largest, connecting 3 908 urban agglomerations. 637 kilometres is the minimum distance at which all urban agglomerations on the continent connect to a single network.

Source: www.africapolis.org

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• Improving food and nutrition security • Strengthening resilience • Analysing and supporting changes in food systems • Sahel and West Africa Week

dans ce chapitre: • Améliorer la sécurité alimentaire et nutritionnelle • Renforcer la résilience • Décrire les mutations de l’économie alimentaire • La Semaine du Sahel et de l’Afrique de l’Ouest

10 Photo credit: Wanjiru

Food ISSueS The food economy in West Africa is very dynamic and represents a major driver of development. Despite rapid demographic growth, the region has made significant progress in the past few decades. Investments of various kinds have allowed West Africa to avoid any major food crises for over ten years. According to the Global Hunger Index, West Africa has reduced the prevalence of malnutrition by 60% in the last two decades. However, child malnutrition remains a major challenge: almost 40% of children aged under five are stunted; every year between 4 and 8Â million people need food and nutrition assistance. Food, nutrition and security challenges are ever more intertwined in the context of protracted security crises.

At the same time, the agri-food sector has increased production volumes, gradually adapted to urban markets and diversified its outputs. The food economy is growing and becoming more dynamic as a result of urbanisation and offers a promising outlook in terms of nutrition, health, and the creation of decent jobs and infrastructure. Public policies looking to make a difference need to take account of the increasing complexity of food systems.

Food and nutrition security, security implications, resilience of the most vulnerable and changes in the food economy remain top priorities. The Secretariat is simultaneously addressing these closely-linked challenges.

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Improving food and nutrition security Throughout 2018, the Secretariat highlighted the growing links between food and security challenges. On many occasions, including within the RPCA, it stressed the need to pursue and intensify the prevention and management of food and nutrition crises, in support of the broad project to stabilise the region.

Effectiveness and co-ordination require a consensus-based diagnosis of the agricultural, food and nutrition situation. Alongside CILSS, the Secretariat has continued to support this function of the RPCA, which brings together some one hundred stakeholders under the leadership of ECOWAS and UEMOA. The pastoral situation was particularly difficult in 2018 due to major feed shortages in the Sahel as well as restricted access to grazing areas due to security issues. In several West African countries, the fall armyworm also caused major damage to crops.

The prevalence of global acute malnutrition exceeds the emergency threshold of 15% in several areas. The related social and economic costs are estimated at over 10% of GDP in some countries. In order to reverse this trend, RPCAÂ members adopted a declaration at their 34th annual meeting in Banjul. The declaration calls on all stakeholders to set up innovative financing mechanisms and develop community-based approaches, while increasing their preventive efforts, in order to tackle all forms of malnutrition at the same time.

Improving regional governance of food and nutrition security (FNS) is also essential. The reform of the Network is underway and the RPCA Steering Committee met for the first time in April 2018. The new RPCA website, with three mapping tools and a resource centre, supports decision-making and improves the convergence and effectiveness of interventions. National response plans are now monitored and evaluated by the Network.

RPCA members discussed the recommendations of the 2 nd evaluation of the Charter for the prevention and management of food crises (PREGEC Charter) and validated a roadmap for its implementation. The Secretariat supported civil society organisations, contributing to their advocacy strategy within its engagement and accountability framework for the application of the PREGECÂ Charter.

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Impact • The RPCA inspired the creation of the Global Network against Food Crises with its consensus-based approach and tools.

• The Network’s analysis and recommendations inform national response plans; decisions by ECOWAS, UEMOA and CILSS; United Nations humanitarian appeals; and the Global Report on Food Crises.

• The 2 nd evaluation of the PREGEC Charter puts forward ideas for improving the effectiveness of responses to food crises and more globally of FNS regional governance.

• The Banjul declaration on nutrition strengthens the region’s political commitment. It was submitted to the working group on food security during the French Presidency of the G7.

Expected outcomes

Progress on activities and products

Improved RPCA capacity for producing consensus-based diagnosis and influencing decision making and policies

Organisation of two RPCA meetings (April and December); large-scale dissemination of key recommendations and the RPCA policy brief.

Integration of macro-economic factors in RPCA/PREGEC communiqués and large-scale multi-media dissemination.

Development of three mapping tools (Cadre harmonisé analysis, FNS interventions and best practices on resilience) providing key information for decision making to improve the coherence and co-ordination of interventions.

Implementation of the RPCA reform plan in response to a range of expectations: strong political leadership and links with decision-making bodies, accountability, effective technical operations, a strengthened “prevention” function and the inclusion of other FNS factors (gender and pastoral vulnerability) in RPCA analyses.

Implementation of the PREGEC Charter

Discussion of the recommendations of the 2nd evaluation and approval of a roadmap.

Operationalisation of the civil society engagement and accountability framework.

Strengthened dialogue and co-ordination

Launch of the new RPCA website: www.food-security.net Creation of a database of FNS and resilience interventions (~300 project/programme profiles).

Organisation of the 2nd consultation of the development partners’ platform for dialogue and co-ordination (December).

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Strengthening resilience The Secretariat’s advocacy work has helped regional organisations and partners to keep resilience a priority on the Sahel and West Africa development agenda. It is vital to step outside the exclusive logic of emergencies and secure the considerable funds needed to invest in sustainably strengthening the capacity of vulnerable populations to face uncertainty and respond to shocks.

In both its advocacy and support for regional processes, the Secretariat has made a significant contribution to integrating resilience into food and nutrition security policies, especially in the 2 nd generation of Regional (RAIP-FNS) and National (NAIP‑FNS) Agriculture Investment Plans and Food and Nutrition Security.

In 2018, the Secretariat focused its support on the ten countries that had validated their National Resilience Priorities (NRP-AGIR) for the implementation of national systems to harness and disseminate best practices on resilience. Around fifty best practices are in the process of validation. Niger and Senegal shared their success stories within the Senior Experts’ Group (SEG-AGIR) in Paris and Banjul, attracting much media attention, particularly from the TV5 Monde WARI programme.

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Impact • Resilience has been included in the mobilising programmes that are being designed in the ECOWAP 2025 process.

• The mapping tools on FNS and resilience interventions and best practices on resilience help to increase the consistency and effectiveness of collective action, and facilitate the scaling up of success stories and mutual learning.

• Dialogue between partners helps align their FNS and resilience initiatives with regional priorities and enhances the leadership of inter-governmental organisations (ECOWAS, UEMOA and CILSS).

Expected outcomes

Progress on activities and products

Implementation of AGIR and resilience priorities

Organisation of two SEG-AGIR (April and December) sessions and advocacy at regional and international levels.

Contribution to the ECOWAS Technical Monitoring Group to support the formulation of the 2nd generation of the NAIP-FNS and mobilising programmes.

Enhanced synergy and complementarity

Development of mapping tools to geolocalise FNS and resilience interventions and best practices on resilience.

Knowledge sharing (Niger and Senegal) in the SEG-AGIR. Organisation of the 2nd meeting of the development partners’ platform for dialogue and co-ordination on FNS and resilience interventions (December).

Promotion of best practices on resilience

Setting-up of national systems for capitalising on best practices.

Training and support for AGIR focal points.

Production of nearly 50 best practices information sheets.

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Analysing and supporting changes in food systems The size of the food economy has increased considerably, due to population growth. The food economy provides jobs for almost 85 million people, or 67% of the working-age population. The growing demand of urban consumers for fresh perishable produce is stimulating the development of transport, storage, processing and commercialisation, which is a significant source of employment for young people and women. In food processing and commercialisation, women account for 83% and 72% of the workforce respectively.

West African food systems have many challenges to face. First, the double burden of over- and under-nutrition. While 10.5% of adults are under-nourished, 17.6% – most of whom live in urbanised areas – are overweight. Furthermore, the growing complexity of food value chains is driving demand for qualified labour in logistics, food science and marketing; the new generation has a greater need than ever for education and training.

In the light of these challenges, decision-makers need to implement policies and instruments that draw on a detailed knowledge of the changes at play in food systems. They also need to ensure greater coherence between sectoral policies (agriculture, health, education and commerce) and levels of governance (from decentralisation to regional and continental integration).

By measuring the double burden of over- and under-nutrition and tracking their causes to the biases in agricultural production and urbanisation, the Secretariat’s work also shows why FSN policies need to incorporate public health objectives. By describing the changes in food economy employment, it provides more detailed information in support of policies stimulating the creation of jobs for young people and women. By further analysing and mapping the City Region Food Systems (territories that cities depend on for their food), the Secretariat’s work demonstrates the need to move from agricultural policies focused solely on production towards a multi‑sectoral and multi‑level food system governance.

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Impact • Production of new FNS data on the double burden of under- and over-nutrition.

• Contribution to changes in the political narrative about jobs in the food economy, by measuring its scope and capacity to integrate young people and women as well as the need for skills. This research was used to inform discussions on rural youth employment in the Sahel within the framework of the French Presidency of the G7.

• Introducing empirical aspects to an analysis of food system governance and government scales.

Expected outcomes

Progress on activities and products

Contributions made to developing indicators for monitoring food and nutrition security in urban areas

Production of a West African Paper (WAP) entitled "Disentangling Urban and Rural Food Security in West Africa" on FNS indicators in urban areas (No. 15, April 2018).

Identification of opportunities for creating jobs in the food economy, notably for women, in rural and urban areas

Production of a WAP entitled "Agriculture, Food and Jobs in West Africa" on the structure of and changes to employment in the food economy in West Africa (No. 14, April 2018).

Mapping of City Region Food Systems in West Africa and identification of policy implications

Production of research and maps in order to estimate food flows between production and consumption centres in West Africa.

Organisation of a thematic session during the RPCA meeting in Paris (April 2018).

Production of employment forecasts in the food economy up to 2030.

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Sahel and West Africa Week The Sahel and West Africa Week is an annual meeting for dialogue and consultation on food issues. It is organised by the SWAC Secretariat under the leadership of ECOWAS and UEMOA. In 2018, the Week brought together some 300 participants from 3-8 December in Banjul, Gambia.

The 34 th RPCA annual meeting discussed the food and nutrition situation and reviewed the implementation of response plans. Participants took stock of progress made in implementing the Global Alliance for Resilience (AGIR) within the Senior Experts’ Group (SEG-AGIR). On this occasion, Senegal introduced its approach to "New resilient terroirs", as a way of strengthening resilience. RPCA members emphasised the need to scale up best practices on nutrition and adopted a declaration in this regard which received considerable media attention in Gambia and the rest of the world.

ECOWAS, UEMOA and the CILSS launched the project for “Improving the governance of resilience, food and nutrition security and sustainable agriculture in West Africa” (PAGR-SANAD) within the framework of the regional indicative programme of the 11th European Development Fund. A half-day was devoted to the host country focusing on Gambia’s experience in addressing food and nutrition challenges and boosting resilience.

The 2 nd partners’ consultation stressed the lack of co-ordination between strategies and interventions. As a follow-up to the discussions, the SWAC President appealed to all stakeholders to work together to improve the consistency, alignment and effectiveness of interventions. The 18 th CILSS partners’ committee examined the progress achieved in implementing the institution’s reform. The ROPPA partners’ round table focused on the implementation of the new five-year plan for 2019-23.

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Prevalence of underweight children by country and location Severely underweight Urban

Severely and moderately underweight

Rural

Urban

Rural

14

29

43

Niger 7

Nigeria 8

13

27

37

Chad 9

11

28

34

Burkina Faso 5

20

8

33

Mali 3

21

10

33

West Africa 6

23

10

33

Benin 7 8

23

28

Gambia 2

5

16

26

Senegal 2

6

2

6

18

26

Guinea 13

25

Mauritania 24

39

Togo 2

5

14

23

5 6

14

23

Sierra Leone Côte d’Ivoire 2

4

15

22

Liberia 5

19 21

Ghana 2

11

17

Guinea−Bissau 16

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Share of population (in %)

Source: DHS, https://dhsprogram.com; UNICEF/MICS, http://mics.unicef.org. Author’s calculations based on DHS, survey data.

Extract: van Wesenbeeck, C. (2018), Disentangling urban and rural food security in West Africa, West African Papers, No. 15, OECD Publishing, Paris.

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• understanding the role of social capital and networks in increasing the resilience of women traders • comparing gender equality

20 Créditcredit:: Photo photo : Wanjiru CSAO

GendeR Women are major economic players. Two-thirds of women work in the food economy, where they account for 51% of workers. Women traders also play an important role in markets and take part in cross-border migration and integration.

The Secretariat helps establish a better understanding of the contextual, social, physical and economic obstacles that impede women’s access and contribution to the operation of local and regional markets and the food economy.

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Understanding the role of social capital and networks in increasing the resilience of women traders The Secretariat finalised a mapping of local rice networks in the Dendi region (located within Benin, Niger and Nigeria) in order to better understand the value chain and analyse the position of women within it. At the same time, a regional survey was carried out on the governance networks that support women’s economic activities to identify the actors – regional and international organisations, nation states, private actors, associations, NGOs, development partners, etc. – their connections and the structural barriers to the development of women’s entrepreneurship. By using a unique relational approach called social network analysis, the local and institutional functional dynamics of these networks can be compared and analysed in order to develop public policies that are better adapted to the constraints on women’s economic activities and to identify structural opportunities.

Impact • Relational analysis allows researchers to reconstruct the connections between social actors. This unique approach provides a new key to understanding a highly informal economy and how it operates. It enables the identification of the constraints and opportunities faced by women in trade networks and the formulation of strategies, programmes and projects to better support them.

Expected outcome

Progress on activities and products

Better understanding of the role social capital and networks play in the resilience of women in trade networks

Completion of field studies in the Dendi region and at the regional level (~ 2 000 interviews).

Production of a flagship report entitled “Women and Trade Networks in West Africa” on the spatial analysis of women’s trade networks, published in the OECD West African Studies series.

Launch at the RPCA meeting in Brussels (April 2019).

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Comparing gender equality In collaboration with the OECD Development Centre, the Secretariat has finalised a comparative regional assessment of gender inequality in West African social institutions. The study draws on the Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI). It provides the region and its partners with a specific portrait of the issues and potential areas for policy discussions.

Impact • Conducting a comparative regional analysis of the SIGI Index highlights the areas where some countries could make progress based on strategies adopted by other countries in the region. It also identifies specific problems that occur in all countries and which could benefit from joint initiatives.

Expected outcome

Progress on activities and products

Better knowledge of the inequality between women and men

Completion of surveys in 17 countries in the region covering 14 indicators grouped into 4 categories: family code, physical integrity, access to resources and assets, and civil liberties.

Production of a WAP entitled “Gender Inequality in West African Social Institutions”, published on 8 March 2018 at the occasion of International Women’s Day (No. 13, March 2018).

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• mapping and understanding urbanisation dynamics • understanding the role of border cities • promoting the resilience of border cities to climate change

24 Photo credit: Yann Arthus-Bertrand Crédit photo : CSAO

cItIeS And uRBAnISAtIon Between now and 2050, Africa is projected to experience the fastest rate of urban growth in the world, with the population of its cities set to absorb an additional 950 million inhabitants, and will reach a level of urbanisation of 60%. This dynamic will profoundly affect the structure and functioning of the economy. Strong urban demand will put pressure on the food and housing sectors in particular.

Value chains will develop but face structural weaknesses such as lack of infrastructure and access to energy. A denser urban network should accelerate the regional integration process.

Cities will play an important role in the continent’s social, environmental – more specifically climate – economic and institutional development. Urban planning and management are therefore major development issues. The Secretariat is committed to better understanding urbanisation in order to help design appropriate policy interventions for Africa’s cities of tomorrow.

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Mapping and understanding urbanisation dynamics The urban population of West Africa increased by 85 million between 2000 and 2015, with growth taking place mostly in small- and medium-sized cities. In the coming decades, urban agglomerations will absorb most of the demographic growth and play a major role in local, regional and national mobility and migration, more often than not without benefiting from any policies or investments capable of meeting the challenges posed. In 2018, the Secretariat continued its work on the 2019 Africapolis report, which analyses the drivers, trends and patterns of urbanisation across all levels of the urban network, from small and secondary cities to large metropolitan areas. It proposes more inclusive policy options, targeted at the local, national and regional levels, which integrate the social, environmental and political impacts of urban development, which acknowledge the role of towns as economic drivers, and which attune the growth of agglomerations to the realities of Africa.

Rapid population growth is increasingly blurring the lines between urban and rural areas. This distinction, which was still clear several decades ago, is becoming more and more arbitrary. Policies and statistics needs to be updated to reflect the urban realities of the 21st century. The 2019 Africapolis report points out that urban growth in Africa is to an increasing extent the result of rural transformation; that small towns and secondary cities play a vital role in structuring and connecting the urban network and lie at the heart of the continuum between urban and rural environments; that large metropolitan areas are also a rapidly changing reality; and that a growing number of spontaneous and informal agglomerations are not included in official and administrative statistics. The Africapolis data is designed to allow for more evidencebased policy analyses capturing the complexity and diversity of Africa’s urbanisation dynamics.

Combining Africapolis data with existing statistics on employment, food security and the environment contributes towards a better understanding of these issues. These bridges can in turn be used to inform a wide range of political analyses on climate, access to energy and energy efficiency, and cross-border co-operation.

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Impact • Africapolis can help improve the design of territorial and regional integration policies in line with the complex and diverse processes of urbanisation by making available data that are up-to-date and homogenous.

• Africapolis.org is a powerful tool for understanding urbanisation dynamics in Africa. Users can explore, visualise and map over 200 000 data points. They can download the full dataset to explore it in more detail or apply it to their own needs. Users can also contribute additional data and analyses to make the platform grow.

Expected outcome

Progress on activities and products

Better knowledge of urbanisation dynamics

Creation of the Africapolis database. It provides estimates of the population and size of over 7 600 agglomerations in 50 countries, and indicates how these agglomerations changed between 1950 and 2015.

Development of Africapolis.org, an online portal for visualising urbanisation in Africa.

Launch at Africities Summit in Marrakesh (November 2018).

Production of the 2019 Africapolis report entitled “Africapolis: Urbanisation Dynamics in Africa", within the West African Studies series.

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Understanding the role of border cities The Secretariat continued its work on the role of border cities in regional integration, with a particular focus on six indicators. The objective is to better understand the role these cities play in region building and to promote cross-border co-operation in its functions of facilitating the free circulation of goods and people as well as the stabilisation of border areas.

At the local level, the study of changes in population and morphology examines the growth of border cities and their characteristics in terms of density. At the national level, indicators covering health and businesses look at the coherence of policies and the impact of the lack of investment in border areas. The analysis of accessibility with regard to the condition of infrastructure and border posts helps identify the population bases of border cities and border effects.

Impact • The study of the structure of border cities and how they function helps with the process of formulating place-based policies that are adapted to socio-economic contexts.

Expected outcome

Progress on activities and products

Identification of obstacles to urban border development

Mapping of the six indicators. The analysis fed into the production of four WAPs on West African border cities in the new "Cities" collection: ›› ›› ›› ››

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Regional Integration in Border Cities (No. 20, April 2019) Population and Morphology of Border Cities (No. 21, April 2019) Businesses and Health in Border Cities (No. 22, April 2019) Accessibility and Infrastructure in Border Cities (No. 23, April 2019)

Promoting the resilience of border cities to climate change Africa played an active role in the COP21 negotiations, emphasising the need for mechanisms to finance adaptation to climate change. Many opportunities exist for fostering cross-border co-operation between local authorities. However, given the lack of suitable legislation and funding, local authorities do not always have the means to carry out cross-border projects.

The Secretariat continued its work to better understand the environmental constraints that affect cities and cross-border areas. The work reviews international funding sources. It assesses the legal and governance options that could help local authorities carry out cross‑border projects.

The Secretariat completed three case studies in Dori (Burkina Faso) – Tera (Niger), Gaya (Benin) – Malanville (Niger) and along the Lagos (Nigeria) – Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire) corridor. A practical guide is being produced.

This work feeds into advocacy efforts following the Paris Agreement to provide cities and local authorities with access to climate finance, within the framework of the Climate Task Force of the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLGA) in which the Secretariat participates as a member.

Impact • Local authorities and cities will be better able to assert their role in formulating climate risk mitigation policies.

• Improved knowledge of climate finance for cross-border bodies, as well as of legal levers and financial support for border co-operation.

Expected outcome

Progress on activities and products

Up-to-date source of information on the legal framework of crossborder governance, in particular concerning the environment

Completion of three case studies.

Publication of a practical guide entitled “Cross-border Co-operation and Climate Change Resilience”, in e-book format (2019).

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• Building political advocacy for security issues

30 Créditcredit: Photo photo :Wanjiru CSAO

SecuRItY While instability is a recurring phenomenon in the Sahel and West Africa, it has recently taken a more violent turn and the dynamics underlying it are more complex. The various types of crises – coups d’état, protest movements, trafficking, rebellions and terrorism – now unfold in the context of a globalised security environment that blurs traditional lines between what is local and global, domestic and international, military and civilian, and politics and identity.

Many confl icts are transnational in nature and involve actors and groups with diverging interests. Regional co operation dynamics, trade, and free circulation are now played out in a precarious and unstable context.

It is therefore necessary to give policymakers the keys to understanding these volatile dynamics in order to provide mediumand long-term solutions tailored to the flexibility of the situation.

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Building political advocacy for security issues The Secretariat has entered into a partnership with the University of Florida’s Sahel Research Group, which includes a large number of African, European and American researchers and collaborates with West African universities. Through its regularly-produced analyses, the Secretariat contributes to policy dialogue and supports the discussion and formulation of Members’ and partners’ strategies.

In 2018, the Secretariat provided its Members and partners with an analysis of the government of Niger’s response to the internal and external threats which it faces, a study on political instability in Chad and its potential implications for safety, and an analytical review of experiences of negotiating with terrorist groups in Algeria and Sahelian countries.

On the basis of these studies and previous work, the Secretariat was invited by the foreign affairs ministries of Denmark and Sweden to present the opening statement at the meetings of Special envoys and partners for the Sahel. The Secretariat also continued to communicate on and lobby for an integrated regional approach to stability and development issues among SWAC Members and partners.

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Impact • Change in the policy narrative on security issues in the Sahel with a better understanding of local specificities, ties to development issues and factors that are cross-border in nature, including the Maghreb.

• Stronger ties are facilitated between researchers and decision makers in support of policies which are more in line with the realities on the ground and which take into consideration different spatial and time scales.

Expected outcome

Progress on activities and products

Greater consideration of policy, economic, social and cultural dynamics in security and stabilisation strategies

Publication of three WAPs: ›› Defying the Odds? Nigerien Responses to Foreign and Domestic Security Challenges (No. 11, January 2018) ›› The Unstable Foundations of Political Stability in Chad (No. 12, February 2018) ›› Political Settlements with Jihadists in Algeria and the Sahel (No. 18, September 2018).

Participation/contribution to the meetings of Special envoys and partners for the Sahel in Stockholm and Copenhagen (January and October).

Lobbying (Agence française de développement, Austria, European Union, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sahel Alliance and UEMOA) for an integrated approach to security and food challenges.

Publication of blogs and articles, participation in radio broadcasts.

33

Position of women in West Africa’s rice network, 2018 Men

Business relationships

Women Others

Note: The size of the circles is proportional to the brokerage capacity of actors (betweenness centrality).

OECD/SWAC (2019), Women and Trade Networks in West Africa, West African Studies, OECD Publishing, Paris.

34

Business relationships between women and between men, 2018 Women Business relationships between women

Men Business relationships between men

Gender affects the social links within a supplier chain network. The women’s network is spread out and fragmented while the men’s network is dense with a central component. Men trade with men and women; however, when women trade, it’s mostly with men because they hold more strategic positions within a network (intermediaries and retailers).

OECD/SWAC (2019), Women and Trade Networks in West Africa, West African Studies, OECD Publishing, Paris.

35

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT 2018 expenditure: EUR 3.4 million (excluding OECD overheads) In 2018, SWAC:

Maintained its focus on food issues while continuing to work on issues related to urbanisation, climate, gender and security.

16%

58%

(543 286 EUR) (OR 5)

(1 970 237 EUR) (OR 1 & 2)

Advocacy and communication Member services President & special representative Meetings (excluding The Week) General expenses

Food security Resilience Food economy Sahel and West Africa Week

9%

(294 583 EUR) (OR 4) Urban dynamics Climate change - cities

17%

(581 524 EUR) (OR 3) Women’s trade networks Gender equality Security

OR= output result; see SWAC/GOP(2019)1

Invested in external and African expertise In 2018, 38% of intellectual services expenditure (individual or company) was directly invested in Africa; 80% of mission expenditure was spent on missions in Africa.

Kept in touch with its contacts and networks The Secretariat conducted 62 missions in 2018, 55% of them in Africa. These missions enable SWAC to maintain ties to the region, support regional organisations and feed into discussions; promote the regional approach to development and stability; and contribute to international policy dialogue.

36

Number of missions in 2018

Expenditures by destination

20%

34

28 80%

Afrique

Elsewhere

Africa

Elsewhere

Facilitated network development for its Members and partners Each year, the community of stakeholders dealing with food policy issues meet during the Sahel and West Africa Week. On the sidelines of the official meetings, ECOWAS, UEMOA and CILSS hold discussions with their partners and make progress on joint projects. The many bilateral contacts make it possible to form partnerships and collaborations and to develop networks. 76% of RPCA meeting participants having responded to the survey conducted on 18 April 2018, stated that they use the meeting to expand their network and organise bilateral meetings.

Optimised the Secretariat’s position as part of the OECD The ability to disseminate its products within the OECD provides the Secretariat with a very large audience. As part of the OECD Development Cluster, the SWAC Secretariat is in a position to harness the work done by other directorates thereby enabling it to provide quality results at a reasonable cost. In 2018, for example, SWAC’s work on gender inequality in West African social institutions benefited from the expertise of the gender team at the OECD Development Centre.

37

pRoductS And AudIence Africapolis.org

Africa’s urban transition offers tremendous opportunities, but also brings with it enormous challenges. Launched in 2018 by the Secretariat, Africapolis.org is the only comprehensive and homogeneous, geo-localised database on cities and urbanisation dynamics. Combining demographic sources, satellite and aerial imagery and other cartographic sources, it is designed to enable comparative and long-term analyses of urban dynamics - covering 7 600 agglomerations in 50 countries.

The data and analyses generated by Africapolis aim to improve policymakers’ and researchers’ capacity to better target resources and develop policies that support a managed urban transition. Africapolis provides an evidence base for secondary cities and small towns, which play an important role in moving towards more balanced and sustainable urban development in line with the New Urban Agenda and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11.

38

West African Studies & West African Papers – oe.cd/il/2Bw

g a long tradition activities face numerous gh an unprecedented tor in the Dendi region women's entrepreneurship. growing urbanisation. nforcement of the social atives undertaken omen and strengthen

West African Studies

frica

West African Papers

Regional Integration in Border Cities West African Studies

This report, part of the “Cities” collection, highlights the contribution of border towns to the process of regional integration in West Africa. For 18 countries, six indicators are used to identify the specificities of border towns at the local, national and international levels: demography, urban morphology, formal enterprises, health infrastructure, road accessibility, border control posts. These indicators are analysed from the perspective of three geographical scales of regional integration (density, distance and division).

The report details the economic and institutional obstacles facing border towns. It concludes with placebased political options to facilitate the economic and political development of West African border towns.

Women and Trade Networks in West Africa

West African Papers

Regional Integration in Border Cities

AGRICULTURE, FOOD AND JOBS IN WEST AFRICA

APRIL 2019 NO. 20

WEST AFRICAN PAPERS April 2018 No. 14

-59502-6

Women and Trade Networks in West Africa

and statistical databases.

This work is published on the OECD iLibrary, which gathers all OECD books, periodicals and statistical databases.

Visit www.oecd-ilibrary.org for more information.

9HSTCQE*fjfacg+ SAHEL AND WEST AFRICA

Club Secretariat

Widely disseminated OECD series. The West African Studies series of books examines economic and social issues being faced by West Africa. SWAC work conducted in 2018 led to the production of a flagship report entitled "Women and Trade Networks in West Africa" on the spatial analysis of women’s trade networks. The West African Papers (WAPs) are based on the work done by the Secretariat or a network of partner researchers. Several West African Papers are published each year; as of 2018, certain papers are complemented by a webinar.

eight WAps published in 2018 › Defying the Odds? Nigerien Responses to Foreign and Domestic Security Challenges, No. 11, January › The Unstable Foundations of Political Stability in Chad, No. 12, February › Gender Inequality in West African Social Institutions, No. 13, March › Agriculture, Food and Jobs in West Africa, No. 14, April › Disentangling Urban and Rural Food Security in West Africa, No. 15, April › Incentives and Constraints of Informal Trade between Nigeria and its Neighbours, No. 16, July › Identifying the Factors Driving West African Migration, No. 17, July › Political Settlements with Jihadists in Algeria and the Sahel, No. 18, September

39

RPCA mapping tools – www.food-security.net Results of the Cadre harmonisé analysis Users can visualise the percentage and number of persons affected by food insecurity by phase and for each administrative area. Users can also export data into Excel and create customised maps. Data is updated twice a year (March and November).

FNS and resilience interventions Following an inventory conducted in 2017 in the 17 countries of the region, the mapping tool currently contains nearly 300 geolocalised projects. Users can explore the projects searching by country, theme, target, scale or AGIR pillar. Stakeholders in the region can upload new project files in order to update the database’s content on a regular basis.

Best practices on resilience In order to further capitalise on the achievements of AGIR, more than 50 best practices have been validated.

They are geolocalised on a map and aim to encourage the sharing of information and the scaling up of these success stories. New best practices will be added progressively.

40

Map library – www.oecd.org/swac/maps SWAC has become popular for its maps. Since June 2018, all SWAC productions are available online. The online library contains more than 400 maps, charts and tables in three formats (Web, HD and PDF). Users can search by keyword, theme, country and product type. A USB version is also available.

Maps & Facts The "Maps & Facts" series – composed of a map and a short commentary – are, for the most part, drawn from the Secretariat’s analytical productions.

12 Maps & Facts published in 2018 ›› Burkina Faso still has a long way to go on gender equality, No. 63 ›› The G5 Sahel and its joint force, No. 64 ›› Transhumance and nomadism, No. 65 ›› Stereotypes impede women’s access to employment, No. 66 ›› Critical food and nutrition situation in the Sahelian belt, No. 67 ›› Rural employment diversification, No. 68 ›› Press freedom in West Africa: Ghana best, No. 69 ›› Violent extremism in the Sahara-Sahel, No. 70 ›› Military expenditures in West Africa, No. 71 ›› Chinese loans to West African governments, No. 72 ›› The growing issue of over-nutrition in West Africa, No. 73 ›› West Africa’s food security outlook for 2019, No. 74

41

west africa Brief – www.west-africa-brief.org This press review covers the region’s political, economic and

WEST AFRICA BRIEF www.west-africa-brief.org

social trends as well as the activities of SWAC Members. The

No. 261, 6-21 March 2018 ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶

Secretariat published 14 editions in 2018 in both English and

West Africa celebrates International Women’s Day Sierra Leone: tight presidential election UEMOA, SWAC take stock of co-operation priorities China to build new ECOWAS Commission Headquarters CILSS programmes co-ordination meeting SWAC webinar “Wars and Conflicts in the Sahara-Sahel” Publication: Gender inequality in West African social institutions Opinion: Gender equality in West Africa? The key role of social norms Maps & Facts: Stereotypes hinder women’s access to employment Who’s who: Finda Koroma, Vice-President, ECOWAS Commission

French.

WEST AFRICA CELEBRATES internationaL WoMen’S daY

© SWAC/OECD

International Women’s Day on 8 March offered an opportunity for West African leaders and citizens to reflect on women’s social, economic, cultural and political achievements, showcase the progress being made on closing the region’s gender gap and highlight persisting gender inequalities. The day was marked by a large number of gender-focused special events and activities. Ghana’s theme for this year’s celebration was: #Women Too - Press to Progress as Game Changers. In the lead-up to 8 March, the country organised a series of advocacy activities to focus on institutional and socio-cultural barriers to gender equality. “Women’s participation in governance: state of play, challenges and perspectives” was the official theme put forward by Burkina Faso. The goal of their activities was to encourage stronger female participation in political, economic and public life. Mali chose as its theme, “Women as mediators in the restoration of social cohesion in the

G5 Sahel.” Malian women spoke out against the weak representation of women’s voices in the Algiers peace agreement implementation. Their activities also focused on how to protect women against domestic violence. Nigeria’s first lady Aisha Buhari launched the “Leave our daughters alone” campaign to stop abductions and other harmful practices against women. Nigeria also published its 4th annual list of the 100 most inspirational and influential women to promote as change-makers, innovators and female leaders.

As part of the OECD’s March on Gender, the Sahel and West Africa Club Secretariat (SWAC/OECD) drew attention to the living conditions of women and girls in West Africa and the persistent discrimination affecting them. It organised on 9 March a special event entitled, “Why women and girls matter in West Africa: A closer look at inequalities and social institutions.” Ambassadors from Ghana and Nigeria participated in the event.

The West Africa Brief is published by the Sahel and West Africa Club Secretariat (SWAC/OECD). It presents political, economic and social developments in the region. Special focus is given to news regarding regional organisations (ECOWAS, UEMOA, CILSS) as well other SWAC Members’ activities. The articles should not be reported as representing the offi cial views of the OECD or of its member countries. Contact: julia.wanjiru@oecd.org

www.west-africa-brief.org

SAHEL AND WEST AFRICA

Club Secretariat

In the media

Photo credit: Wanjiru

42

SWAC website consulted

140 000

times

Publications downloaded

20 000

times

Map library consulted

20 000

6 000

times

An audience increase of

Subscribers to NewsAlerts

50%

West Africa Brief website consulted

60 000

2 100 Followers on Twitter

times SWAC contributes to the SDGs within the 2030 Agenda

43

ANNEX Articles and contributions – www.oecd.org/swac/news Politorbis, No. 66, Foreign policy review, Swiss Confederation

February

Eradicating hunger and malnutrition in the Sahel and West Africa: If you want to go far, go together (French)

OECD Development Matters

9 February

Food prices must drop in Africa: How can this be achieved?

OECD Development Matters

8 March

Gender equality in West Africa? The key role of social norms

Le Monde Afrique

13 March

In the Sahel, statements…and methods (French)

The Economist

15 March

Overpriced: Why Africa’s poor pay high prices

RFI

17 April

Burkina Faso: the authorities take preventive action in response to the cereal deficit (French)

OECD Development Matters

17 April

Disentangling urban and rural food security issues in West Africa

AFP/Figaro/VOA Afrique

17 April

Sahel: severe degradation of the food situation (French)

AFP communiqué picked up

by SlateAfrique, TV5 Monde, VoaAfrique, Journal du Cameroun, MaliActu, Presse. ca, TeleSud, Orient du Jour

17 April

In the Sahel, drought and jihad create an explosive pastoral crisis (French)

RFI

17 April

Burkina: working towards an increasingly modern agriculture, interview with Jacob Ouédraogo, Minister of Agriculture (French)

RFI

18 April

RPCA members explore food crisis prevention challenges (French)

RFI

19 April

West Africa: 8 million food insecure people (French)

OECD Insights

April

Herders vs Farmers: Resolving deadly conflict in the Sahel and West Africa

AFD, Ideas4Development

25 June

Sahelian women, both central and marginal

RFI

17 July

Debate on cross-border co-operation issues in West Africa (French)

RFI

26 July

Mali: tensions ahead of elections

La Libération

5 September

François Moriconi-Ebrard: In Africa, urban sprawl is phagocyting the rural settlement patterns (French)

44

OECD Observer

September

What hope for peace in Mali?

Le Monde Afrique

18 October

Obesity, a growing challenge for West Africa (French)

RFI

21 November

Africapolis, presentation in the radio podcast C’est pas du vent (French)

OECD Development Matters

22 November

Visualising urbanisation: How the Africapolis platform sheds new light on urban dynamics in Africa

Le Monde Afrique

22 November

Laurent Bossard: The city is a laboratory of the Africa of tomorrow (French)

France Info

23 November

Africapolis, an OECD website on the evolution of African cities (French)

France 24

27 November

Africapolis: a database on African urbanisation (French)

Cities Today

27 November

New database released to better assess African cities

RFI

3 December

Radio news broadcast on the 34th RPCA annual meeting in Banjul (French)

All Africa/ Foroyaa

3 December

Gambia: Stakeholders find ways of combating food crisis and insecurity

The Point Gambia

5 December

Gov’t commits to the realisation of food, nutrition security for Gambians

FARM

17 December

Employment in West Africa: everything is created, everything is transformed (French)

SWAC/OECD

21 March

Wars and conflicts in the Sahara-Sahel region

SWAC/OECD

28 June

Food employment in West Africa

SWAC/OECD

27 September

Identifying the factors driving West African migration

TV5 Monde

February

Resilience: the house of farmers in Niger

TV5 Monde

April

RPCA restricted meeting 2018, Paris

TV5 Monde

December

34th RCPA annual meeting, Banjul

TV5 Monde

December

Resilience: four examples from Gambia

Webinars

WARI programmes

45

Interviews – Questions A

(French)

Ouest-TV

February

Ali Bety: 3N Initiative in Niger

Ouest-TV

April

Sidi Gueye Niang: 2 nd evaluation of the PREGEC Charter

Ouest-TV

April

Sy Martial Traoré: The market situation in the Sahel

Ouest-TV

December

Marie-Pierre Poirier : Nutrition challenges

Ouest-TV

December

Ibrahim Assane Mayaki: SWAC president priorities

Videos – Did you know?

SWAC/OECD

June

The RPCA’s role

SWAC/OECD

June

How does the Network work?

SWAC/OECD

June

AGIR - Global Alliance for Resilience

SWAC/OECD

June

Promoting peaceful transhumance

SWAC/OECD

June

The key role of women in ensuring food security

SWAC/OECD

June

The PREGEC Charter

46

StAY connected Club

www.oecd.org/swac www.food-security.net www.africapolis.org www.west-africa-brief.org @SWAC_OECD www.facebook.com/OECDSWAC www.youtube.com/user/SWACoecd www.flickr.com/photos/swac swac.contact@oecd.org

SAHEL AND WEST AFRICA

Club

DU SAHEL ET DE L'AFRIQUE DE L'OUEST